Being a space case isn't necessarily a bad thing. This will be especially true this weekend when the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra (NMSO) joins forces with the LodeStar Astronomy Center for a performance that should please classical music enthusiasts and space geeks alike.

Reservation Stories at the Jonson Gallery

By Steven Robert Allen

Even out here in the heart of Indian Country, a lot of people harbor garishly distorted ideas about Native Americans. Albuquerque might be sandwiched between two Pueblo reservations, but for many Anglos knowledge of Native America begins and ends with buying slabs of fry bread at the State Fair and maybe the occasional fake arrowhead crudely mass-produced in some factory south of the border.

Galeria Artopia

By Steven Robert Allen

Sometimes one David just isn't enough. Michelangelo's David, he of the giant hands, has been around for 500 years now. To celebrate this momentous occasion, a bunch of local artists have each made new art that incorporates, in one way or another, images of Michelangelo's famous sculpture. Some pieces are heartfelt tributes. Some are hilarious satires. Many are impossible to categorize. A reception for 500 Davids will be held Friday, Feb. 4, from 5 to 9 p.m. at Galeria Artopia (5100 Constitution NE), a gallery located in the home of Allan Rosenfield. The show runs through March 12. 254-0504.

Ana Chavira Theatre

By Steven Robert Allen

In the immortal words of the J. Geils Band: "Love stinks!" Everyone at one time or another has been made to suffer at the chubby, pink but surprisingly agile hands of that deceptively cute cherry-cheeked bastard, Eros. Musical Theatre Southwest gives viewers an opportunity to laugh at other people's romantic misery with its remounted production of I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change, which originally ran at the Cell Theatre back in 2003. The show runs Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m. in the Ana Chavira Theatre. $20 general, $18 students/seniors. 262-9301.

American Brutus: John Wilkes Booth and the Lincoln Conspiracies

A president clamps down on civil liberties, enraging opponents who already despise him. Democrats genuinely fear for the country, particularly after the attorney general issues orders to round up administration critics. Meanwhile, Canada beckons, offering succor to those who believe that somehow, somewhere America has gone horribly wrong.

The Seas

We get most of our modern versions of fairy tales filtered through the homogenizing corporate screen of Disney. By the time these tales get to us, all the primal weirdness of the originals has been transformed into sugary song and dance routines with a few cutesy, wise-cracking animal sidekicks thrown in for good measure. That's all fine and good because Disney cartoons are aimed at children. If modern youngsters were exposed to the original tales, most of which are both violent and perverse, we'd risk scarring the little darlings for life. We wouldn't want that, now would we?